Banking court orders to transfer money laundering case to Rawalpindi

KARACHI: A banking court in Karachi on Friday ordered to transfer money laundering case against former president Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and other accused to Rawalpindi.

As per details, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Zardari and Faryal Talpur skipped today’s hearing, while Hussain Lawai, Abdul Ghani Majeed and others appeared before the court.

With the ruling of transfer of the case to Rawalpindi, the bails of Asif Ali Zardari, Faryal Talpur and others accused have been suspended.

The banking court on Monday had reserved its verdict on an application of the NAB seeking transfer of the case against Zardari, Talpur and other accused.

During the hearing, Defence counsel Farooq H Naek informed the judge that has also filed his objections on a NAB plea to transfer the case from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to Karachi, saying the Supreme Court had passed no such directives as the bureau was misinterpreting the apex court’s ruling in the case.

He requested the judge to reject the transfer plea which, according to him, was aimed at influencing the case.

Money laundering case

Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and other accused are facing a probe into the money laundering scam involving over Rs35 billion laundered through fake bank accounts.

Zardari’s close aides Hussain Lawai and Anwar Majeed are also being investigated in the scandal. They both are in custody.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed to probe into the mega money laundering scam submitted its report in the Supreme Court. The report revealed that 29 fake bank accounts had been identified, which were used for money laundering.